Cherry Blossom Festival

Sendai, Japan ♦ April 2013

Festival Pre- and Post-Snow

(2D images first. 3D Galleries further down the page will require red–cyan glasses to see the full 3D effect. Click Photos to Enlarge.)

Dates: 2013 Apr 14/15 & 21/22 (snow)

Photography by Dennis L. Nowicki

Dennis, Kazuko, Jinna and Kristen

JAPAN HAS HELD A SACRED PLACEin its heart for the cherry blossom, or sakura for over twelve centuries. The blossoming of these light pink petals take place in mid-Spring, and only last a few days before falling like a gentle shower from the trees. This, to the Japanese is akin to the briefness of life: a tiny bud, to the brilliance of the bloom, and all too soon, the fall to a distant memory.

Throughout history, this symbolic illustration of life has adorned banners of emperors, the clothing of shogun, the weapons of samurai, art, literature, the national coinage, and the aircraft of the kamikaze in World War II. Thus, the cherry blossom permeates virtually all aspects of Japanese society.

One of the more popular rituals involving cherry blossoms is a festival called hanami, or cherry blossom viewing. In late April/early May, Japanese spread blue tarps under the adorned trees, relax and chat with friends and colleagues over food and drink during the day and into the night. Presented here are some images of this kind of celebratory gatherings, taking place at Tsutsujigaoka Park in Sendai, a city in the northern part of the main island of Japan. People gather in a peaceful camaraderie with all to take in the beauty.

This same year, a very unusual thing happened during sakura. As winter moves to spring, only on rare occasions has snow fallen this late in the season. The last time snows fell during the blooming of cherry blossoms was over a half century before. It was truly a rare opportunity to capture this rare phenomenon in 3D. Perhaps, the next time this occurs, we may be seeing it as a fantastic hologram!